Yesterday I was trimming the ferrets' nails and Ringo - who's normally
dead weight when you scruff him - jerked just as I was clipping the
nail. The nail cut too close and started bleeding pretty badly. I got
the bleeding under control but didn't want to let him down on the
carpet in case it started bleeding again. I couldn't put him back in
the cage because I'd just removed all of the bedding and put it in the
wash. So I put a big towel down on the bathroom floor and stuck one of
their cuddle cup beds in there and shut the door.

A little bit later I had to use the bathroom. And when I opened the
door I found him struggling like mad - he'd caught his head between the
drain pipe and the warm water pipe for my clawfoot tub!! Thankfully I
was able to steady his body and slide his head out and free him but
OMIGOD he could have died!!! He could have strangled or broken his neck
from thrashing about. God I'm so glad I had to go to the bathroom or I
may have been too late. I set up the ferret playpen in my living room
and put him in there and gathered the rest and put them with him.

This is a prime example of how one should ferret proof EVERY room in
their home - even those that the ferrets aren't going to allowed into.
I gate off between the living room and kitchen so they have no access
to the kitchen, bathroom or utility room. I looked around and fixed
any holes in the kitchen cabinets and made sure the cabinets latched
tight but I never got down on the ground and looked for hazards in the
bathroom - nor have I looked at the utility room. And not doing so
nearly cost Ringo his life. You never know when a ferret may escape
into the unferretproofed areas of your home. You may let them out,
forgetting the gate isn't up yet, bigger pets might knock the gate down
or the gate ends up being one that someone manages to get over. This
weekend I'm going to work on making sure my kitchen, utility room and
bathroom are all safe for the fuzzies. I'm just glad I was given this
second chance to make sure my ferrets are protected. Let's make sure
all of ours are.

Laura and The Ferretocious Four at
http://www.ferretocious.com

[Posted in FML 5675]